


Moral Compass

by etoiledunord



Category: House M.D.
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-13
Updated: 2006-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-24 22:51:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/268778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etoiledunord/pseuds/etoiledunord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On his date with Cameron, House discusses the conflict with Vogler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moral Compass

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers up to and including "Love Hurts."

When Cameron had come back to work, the main topic of conversation had been the date she'd roped House into taking her on. It wasn't until she'd been in Wilson's office and noticed that everything on his shelves was slightly rearranged that she'd found out about the firing spree Vogler had tried to go on. Wilson had been deliberately unspecific, but Cameron knew that it all came down to House and his refusal to be Vogler's lap dog.

After the speech, Cameron had tried to call House a dozen times, leaving message after message saying that she needed to talk to him. She needed to tell him that she was leaving, yes, but especially why she was leaving. She needed to protect herself from what he could do to her. What his habit of being right could do to her. Cameron admired House for his tenacity, for what others would call his mule-headedness, but she knew that the fundamental difference between the two of them—that she did things because of people and he did things because they were right—would eventually lead to her being hurt by the fact that what was right wasn't always what Cameron wanted from him.

So she left. And he didn't even shake her hand.

But he offered her his hand to shake when he got her to come back, and as she took it, a small bit of hope glimmered in her. If he cared enough about her as a person to want her to come back, maybe there was a chance.

She kept the knowledge that House had nearly cost Wilson and Cuddy their jobs in the back of her mind at first. It confused her to think that House would care about her enough to want her to come back, but wouldn't care enough about Wilson, at least, to save his job. She was sweet and charming on their date at first, but when House took his gloves off, so did she.

"I am what you need… damaged."

Cameron paused, absorbing what House had said, trying to decide how she felt about it. She decided she didn't know enough to tell yet.

"So damaged that you'd rather let your best friend lose his job than make any kind of concession to your boss?"

House looked at her in a way that could have been suspicious. Or he could have just been looking at her. "What are you getting at?" he asked.

"I found out about the rampage Vogler went on to try to get rid of you. As I understand it, Wilson and Cuddy would have been gone from the hospital if it hadn't been for Cuddy's appeal to the board's sense of democracy."

"Yeah, well, Cuddy's good at getting what she wants. She must have chosen an especially revealing blouse that day," House replied in his style of sarcastic non-communication.

But Cameron kept pushing. "You let Wilson get fired."

"Wilson resigned!" House snapped back.

"Well you put him in a position to resign!"

House stopped and looked down. The waiter came by and took their order. Cameron chose the dish at the top of the list of pasta without even reading the description. After another moment of uncomfortable silence, House spoke again.

"Vogler told me about his plan to get rid of Wilson and Cuddy the first time I met him."

Cameron's head snapped up. "What?" she asked.

"He came into my office. We established that we didn't like each other. I told him it didn't matter because he had money and I had tenure, and he pointed out that he could easily get rid of any board members who would vote against my dismissal."

Cameron was shocked. "And even knowing that, even after he tried to make you fire one of us, you still wouldn't give the speech?"

"I gave the speech. Vogler just didn't like it."

"You insulted him in front of a hall of his colleagues and investors!"

"He deserved it."

Cameron glared at him. "Did Wilson deserve it? Did Foreman or I deserve it?"

House's eyes flicked up to meet Cameron's. "No," he said.

Suddenly Cameron choked, speechless, angry words that had been ready to fly out of her mouth seconds before now caught. Her throat opened back up with a small gasp as she realized how much she wanted to kiss him just then, and she breathed heavily for a moment.

"Then I… I don't understand."

House looked back down. "It doesn't matter," he said. "You resigned, Vogler got kicked out and you and Wilson came back."

"No, it does matter," Cameron told him. "What if it happens again?"

"I don't think Vogler's gonna try for a resurgence anytime-"

"No, not Vogler. What if you're asked to choose between your friends and your principles again? Who wins in this scenario with you?"

House fiddled with his fork, moving it so the light glinted off it as he spoke. "When you left, you told me that I do everything because it's right, and that's why you had to go. What makes you think that what's happened since would have changed my side of that?"

"You care more about Wilson than you do about me," Cameron replied. "I thought maybe seeing him get caught in this might make you reconsider things."

"You're wrong," House told her.

"Then why did you want me to come back?" Cameron asked. "Did you just figure that I was easier to deal with when you went against me? You keep me around because I'm pretty until you betray me and I run away and you don't have to deal with the fact that I'm hurt?"

"No," House said. "I wanted you to come back because I hoped you'll be with me when I have to do the right thing."


End file.
